


Cry of Pain

by Bmxtthxw



Category: The Grinning Man - Philips & Teitler/Grose & Morris & Philips & Teitler/Grose
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Found Family (Implied), Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:33:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25638106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bmxtthxw/pseuds/Bmxtthxw
Summary: David had not heard what all had happened around the castle in the time that he was not a lord. Osric being angry at him was thus rather unexpected.
Relationships: Lord David Dirry-Moir/Osric
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	Cry of Pain

“You.” Now, David was not unused to hearing that word in that specific tone. He was actually incredibly well acquainted with that event. The voice it came from was the surprise, he hadn’t heard it since the almost wedding.

“Osric! My dear, how are things?” He grinned as though he couldn’t see the glare coming from the leader of the freak show.

“Fuck you. You have some gall showing your face anywhere that’s not your bloody castle, you fuckin’ ass-“

“Whoa, hold on, back up.” The glare definitely didn’t soften at the interruption. If anything, it got worse. David pretended not to notice.

“My dear, what on earth has you so mad at me? I haven’t seen you since my sister nearly wedded that grinning man of yours.”

“Oh, you think playin’ stupid’ll save you? Really? Everyone says your wit ain’t as sharp as your blade but I didn’t think it was this damn bad.” Osric stepped toward David, standing up straight in the hopes that the height difference might intimidate him. David figured it wasn’t the time to mention the limp that Osric seemed to be walking with.

“I really am confused, I also think I ought to be offended at that last one-“ It came out as more of a babble than he would have liked but he’d be damned before he ever admitted it.

“I trusted you. The others trusted you. I told them you could be trusted. I let you get far closer than I ever shoulda let a damn lord get, and now they’re-... Fuck you. Fuck you and your stupid family.” For all the man was a performer, and for all David wasn’t great at reading people, it would be hard to claim that Osric’s emotions were being faked. Even he seemed to be getting frustrated that he wasn’t able to control them, his hand coming up to either wipe or hide his face, the true reason didn’t matter once David caught sight of bruising he knew with certainty wasn’t there before.

“What happened to your hand?” The concern was real and both men knew it but Osric didn’t want to acknowledge that. Instead he just dropped his hand and hid any emotions he could behind a mask and a bitter laugh.

“Oh, _fuck off_. Fucked up as it is, it can only heal so much-”

“No, not- Damn it, Osric. I don’t mean the whole shrunken hand business, I mean the marks. Did something happen at the fair?” And oh, David could see the second he finished the sentence that it was the wrong question to ask. The glare returned and if he didn’t know better, he was sure it would put him six feet under the ground.

“Did something happen at the fair?” He didn’t like hearing that much hatred come from Osric. “Did something _happen_? At the fair?” There was that bitter laugh again, maybe even bordering on hysterical, and David hated it, absolutely hated it compared to Osric’s usual laugh. “You been over there recently? I get if you haven’t. Might not even be able to find it, considering the fact that _they fuckin’ burned it!_ ” David would not admit to flinching at the sudden shout, just as Osric would not admit to feeling bad about making David flinch.

“Oz, I didn’t know.” David’s voice is quiet compared to the other and that alone is jarring. “I didn’t. No one told me. I saw you at the wedding but-... I assumed- I shouldn’t have assumed anything but I never even considered that the smell of ash was you.”

Osric just stared at him like he was a fool and an ass (which, granted, was not a new situation for David), mentally going through every possible consequence for just clocking the man where he stood. Despite the stare and the anger in it, there was a heartbreak and sadness along with it that David barely knew how to react to. For once, he decided to stay silent, choosing to reach out and grab Osric’s hand, pull it closer to him, never once holding tight enough that Osric wouldn’t be able to pull away.

David was careful to stay gentle as he brushed his fingers over the bruising, light pressure every so often, on every bone that felt a bit strange, being the only way Osric was really sure he was even doing anything. Neither knew why he even cared enough to check for any broken spots but they also didn’t want to break the fragile peace that there was. It stayed quiet all the way up until David pressed on one of the darker parts of the bruise and Osric jerked back with a hiss. He didn’t pull away, though, when David didn’t let go, continuing his motions from before over fucked up bone and bruise alike, this time avoiding the spots that might cause more pain.

“What makes you think I had any sort of hand in this..? In hurting you, or the fair?” Osric wouldn’t look at him, ducking his gaze away, even as David tried to meet his eyes. “I liked the fair and I like you,”

“They mentioned that sister of yours. The damn queen.” The anger had burned out into sadness. “I tried to stop them, ‘cause some of the others, they can’t protect themselves, not against palace guards, but words don’t work against people already ready to beat up the freaks... I got out whoever I could, but everyone- they all scattered when I left to get Ursus to the docks and find Dea, I haven’t been able to find all of them since, I...” Osric was pulled closer as he started getting worked up again, this time out of worry rather than anger. “They’re my family, David. It’s my fault any of that ever happened, i should have done better to protect them, I shouldn’t have-“

“It’s not, Oz. It’s not your fault. You had no way of preventing that or knowing it would happen. I didn’t know. I had been kicked out that day, Angelica never mentioned the fair, I would have warned you, I... I’m so sorry.” Gentleness was not something David was used to providing but it was clear that Osric couldn’t take anything else right now. So he wrapped the man in a hug, held him tightly as the sadness and worry got to be too much, and said nothing about the tears on his shirt. “I’ll help you find them. Whoever’s unaccounted for, we’ll find them, we’ll get your family back together.”

**Author's Note:**

> Listen, I could find absolutely none of this pairing and that was a shame so I figured I would do something about it. (if there is anyone else in this fandom that wants to see more fics, feel free to reach out to my tumblr polaris-and-ink)


End file.
